Law enforcement officials in Florida have charged a Burlington, Ont. man and three others in connection with a US$128 million-fraud case, as they look to seize four multi-million properties allegedly tied to the scheme in the Sunshine State and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Gregory Walker, 43, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering alongside Daniel Liburdi, 35, of Miami, Frank Carbone III, 35, of Orlando, and Joseph Scotto, 44, of Bay Shore, NY.
In the 18-page indictment which was unsealed last week, it is alleged that the fraud started some time in May 2018 and involved the four accused submitting fraudulent applications to U.S. banks to obtain what’s known as “merchant processing accounts,” which allow businesses to accept electronic payments from customers.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
“These applications contained the private personal information of unwitting individuals, obtained by the conspirators under false pretenses,” prosecutors said in a prepared statement.
The case, which is being spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa and the Internal Revenue Service, alleges that after obtaining the merchant accounts, the accused were able to accept credit and debit cards to further an e-commerce enterprise, which used high-risk and “unscrupulous sales techniques.”
Those techniques include, among others, what’s known as “card rebilling” where a seller periodically charges a customer’s card, “with or without providing additional services.”
“By using the personal information of unwitting individuals, the conspirators insulated themselves from personal liability and risk associated with their business model, to the detriment of those persons, and to the financial institutions which materially rely on honest and full disclosures of ownership when providing merchant services.”
Prosecutors allege that the defendants then conspired to launder the proceeds of their criminal enterprise by paying for promotional and advertising services to further the operation.
Proceeds from the illegal enterprise totalled US$128,144,908, all of which prosecutors are looking to seek the forfeiture of.
At least four properties were purchased with the alleged profits, including what appears to be a mansion on the U.S. Virgin Islands and three multi-million dollar properties on the luxurious Hibiscus Island in Miami Beach. One of those properties, according to sales records posted on Zillow, sold for $40 million in 2024. Authorities are seeking the forfeiture of those properties as well.
The four accused are each facing 50 years in prison (30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering) if they are convicted. Liburdi and Carbone III are separately charged with bank fraud.
